Always
by ThePowerOf42
Summary: Utter chaos. Mass confusion. And in the middle of it, three eleven year olds. The infamous Lena "Malfoy", the brilliant but socially-impaired Carter Holmes, and the rebellious sibling Rebecca Granger. Put the three in a dormitory together at Hogwarts and watch the pyrotechnics. Takes place in COS. Hints of Sherlock crossover, but no spoilers as of yet. Rated T for language.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

This is the story of the second Potter child. It started on the 30th of October, the day she was born. The next day, her parents were dead.

* * *

October 31st-Godric's Hollow

The baby was asleep in her cradle. Lily was exhausted, but a combination of happy energy and stubbornness had her up and about. James was entertaining Harry while Lily wrote letters to her friends and family announcing the birth of their daughter. Lily got up and yawned, casting a guilty glance at the stack of letters waiting to be sent. She would send them tomorrow, she resolved. She checked to make sure Lena was still asleep. Lily planted a kiss on her forehead and went downstairs to put Harry to bed. He was laughing and attempting to catch the wisps of colored smoke James was causing to erupt from his wand. She bent down to pick up Harry. James kissed his son and wife as they went upstairs. He yawned. It had been an eventful twenty-four hours, and he hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep. Suddenly, the door crashed open. James was instantly awake, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

" Lily, he's here! Take the kids and go!", he shouted, running into the foyer. The last thing James Potter saw was a flash of green light. Lily was terrified. Her wand wasn't in her pocket.

"Stupid!" she said hysterically through her sobs. She piled furniture against the door. It was Harry he was after, but she knew he wouldn't hesitate to kill all of them. She saw a flash of green light from underneath the door. "Pull yourself together!" she thought, even though her heart was breaking. The door exploded, splinters soaring everywhere. She threw her body in front of the cradles.

"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"

"Stand aside, you silly girl...stand aside, now."

"Not my children, please no, take me, kill me instead-"

"This is my last warning-"

"Not Harry! Please...have mercy….have mercy...not Harry! Not my Lena! Please- I'll do anything!"

"Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!

Green light enveloped her form. She fell to the ground with a thud. The child he had come for stared at the hooded figure with an inquisitive expression. The sibling was awake, and Voldemort noticed that her eyes were open and focused, something unusual in a child of her age. Neither of them were crying. He pointed his wand at the boy's face, watching in disgust as his face crumpled into a scowl. A high-pitched cry started up in the boy's throat. He had never liked the whining of small children at the orphanage, and it was a peeve he had retained. For the third time that night he shouted the curse. But this time, something went wrong. It rebounded upon its caster. He was in pain, excruciating pain…

* * *

Lucius Malfoy felt his master's presence die. He apparated at the Potter's house. The smoking remains were not even a minute old, yet he could feel death radiating from the place like light from a beacon. He was about to trudge away when he heard a child's cry from underneath the rubble. He stepped closer, cautiously. The cry was louder and more urgent this time. Lucius pulled out his wand and levitated wreckage from the source of the sound. He found a pair of cribs side by side, the closer of the two contained a boy, a cut the shape of lightning was oozing blood slowly down his temple. The Potter boy, he thought with a mixture of disgust and wonder. It was the contents of the second cradle which were if possible, even more intriguing. A small girl. Wisps of flaming red hair stuck out in odd directions, and it was from her mouth that the piercing screams came. She couldn't have been more than a day old, but her eyes were focused and furious. The name Lena was painted on the side of her crib in flowing cursive. He thought of Narcissa back at home, who had only yesterday had her third miscarriage. He bundled up the small girl in his cloak. He had no idea of the trouble this small act of kindness would bring..


	2. Chapter 1: The Hogwarts Express

**Chapter 1-The Hogwarts Express (Eleven Years Later)**

_Rebecca Granger's P.O.V_

I kissed Mum on the cheek. "I'll be fine Mum," I said, a bit more than a touch exasperated. "Hermione was fine last year wasn't she?" I pointed out.

"Hermione was also almost killed by a three-headed dog. Besides, your sister is a bit more-" my father began, then hesitated before continuing. "Level headed than you are." He finished. I rolled my eyes and made it clear to them that they were being the obnoxious, overprotective parents that they were always trying so hard not to be, even though though they had a point. She was more level headed than I, something she never failed to point out when we were together.

The train whistle blew and I raced to the train. I yelled, "All-righ'-I-Iove-you-tons!" And jumped onto the already moving train.

* * *

_Carter Holmes's P.O.V_

Father and I stood uncomfortably. Neither of us were very good at goodbyes, or hellos, or talking at all for that matter. We awkwardly hugged and I kissed Mum's cheek. I could see my father's mind whirring at a mile per minute, analyzing and processing everything he saw. My father was the legendary Sherlock Holmes, a fact that I was extremely proud of. Though I had inherited his intelligence, I had also inherited his social skills. The latter left much to be desired. "Um…" I said, and then immediately hated myself for it. 'Um' wasn't even a word, not to mention how...un-eloquent it was. One of the drawbacks of having a brilliant forensic pathologist and a world renowned detective for parents was that you have incredibly high standards to live up to. My mother was better at social events, and quite emotional, luckily for me.

"We will miss you very much honey." She gave me a bone-crushing hug.

"Bye. I love you. I'll write to you loads." I blurted. Another stiff hug from my father later, I was navigating through the throngs of people towards the train. I took one final deep breath-and I stepped ceremoniously onto the Hogwarts Express.

* * *

_Lena Malfoy's P.O.V_

"I WON'T get into Gryffindor!" I argued.

"Draco, leave your sister alone." Father said in a bored tone. We had been arguing since six 'o'clock that morning, and there was a vein pulsing in his temple.

"You might. All I'm saying is that you might get into Gryffindor." Draco smirked at me. I knew he was trying to wind me up. It was working. I glared at him.

"If you're not careful, I might set Stella on you." Draco's expression quickly morphed from a smirk to one of pure horror. Stella was commonly referred to as 'the devil cat' by Draco.

"Don't. You. Dare." he said, fixing me with The Look Of Doom.

"I might. All I'm saying is that I might." I said, retaliating with a smirk of my own.

"Whatever house you do get into, we'll be proud of you, darling." said Mum, ruffling my hair.

"Unless it's Gryffindor. Then we'll disown you." finished Draco. I gave him my very own Look of Doom. The train whistle blew.

"Love you, Mum, love you Dad." I said, kissing both of them goodbye. I bolted towards the Express, Draco on my heels, then I slowed to a walk as I stepped onto the train. The train that would be taking me to Hogwarts, and taking me to a new life.


	3. Chapter 2: Friends and Foes

**Chapter Two: Friends, Foes, and Unexpected Developments**

_Rebecca Granger's P.O.V_

"There you are Rebecca!" Hermione's voice snapped from behind me. I stiffened. I had been hoping not to run into her on the train, and maybe make a few friends before they realized I was the sister of the biggest know-it-all on this side of the planet. I turned around reluctantly. "Have you seen Ron or Harry?" she asked. Of course. She wanted to ask about someone else. There was no way she would talk to me just because I was her sister, or because she liked to know what was going on in my life.

"No, I haven't." I answered, just as another girl's voice from behind me asked,

"Oh, Hermione, have you seen Ron?" I turned to see a girl with red hair and freckles.

"I was just asking 'Becca the same thing. And I haven't seen Harry either." The red haired girl went bright pink when Hermione said 'Harry'. Interesting. I cleared my throat pointedly.

"Oh!" Hermione said. "I haven't introduced you, have I? Rebecca, this is Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister. Ginny, this is Rebecca...my sister."

"Sister? Ron never told me you had a sister, Hermione." Hermione turned slightly pink when I raised my eyebrows at her.

"Why don't you two try and find a compartment, while I look for Harry and Ron?" she said, hastily changing the subject. She didn't give Ginny or me a chance to respond. She ran off, leaving me with me with Ginny. I stood there awkwardly for a moment.

"Well, shall we?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Um...okay." said Ginny. "Why don't we try this one?" she said, opening the door to the nearest one. I stepped through the door. The only occupant was a lanky auburn haired girl, who was already wearing her robes. I immediately knew why she had been left alone. She radiated disapproval, disgust and contempt. But Ginny had already sat down. Reluctantly, I did the same.

* * *

_Lena Malfoy's P.O.V_

I looked up from my book as the compartment door opened, irritated. I gritted my teeth as a pair of girls stepped through. They were the third interruption so far, and I was extremely displeased that I couldn't read a book without having my privacy intruded upon. I returned to my book, deciding it was best to ignore them.

"Hi, I'm Ginny Weasley, and this is Rebecca Granger. Hope you don't mind if we sit here. What's your name?" I sighed, and shut my book. Apparently, the world was against me reading 'Hogwarts, A History' in peace.

"Lena Malfoy." I said in a low drawl, my voice dripping with contempt. Perfect! I looked closely at them. I recognized them from Flourish and Blotts. Apparently the Weasley girl did as well, as she cried, "I know you! You're that girl from Flourish and Blotts!"

"I am stunned by your powers of deduction," I said in the same monotone voice. I was totally nailing this.

"What house are you hoping to get into?" asked the Granger girl, sitting down and pulling the redhead to sit down next to her.

"Slytherin, obviously. It's the only house worth being in after all." I leaned back, twirling a strand of my hair around my finger. "I mean, imagine being put into Hufflepuff. I would leave, wouldn't you?"

"What's wrong with Hufflepuff?" asked the Granger girl in a confused yet indignant tone. I snorted. I sat up very straight, made my voice a few octaves higher than usual, and infernally cheerful.

"Hi, I'm a Hufflepuff! I'm scared of ghosts! And sheets with holes! And regular sheets too!" I squeaked. I slumped back over and resumed my regular voice. "Honestly, what's the point of having a house full of idiots?"

"Well, you're polite!" said the Weasley girl sarcastically. Good. I had succeeded in irritating both of them.

"Whatever. And as you leave please close the door behind you, I'll have an awful lot of disinfecting charms to do and I don't want anymore filthy mudbloods and blood traitors penetrating my personal bubble." I said, and opened my book again to hide my smile as the girls stormed out of the compartment.

* * *

_Rebecca Granger's P.O.V_

"Egad!" I fumed. Hermione had told me what most purebloods, and Malfoys in particular were like, but I hadn't expected one to be like that.

"I know." said Ginny angrily. "That girl was a nightmare. I really hope I'm not in Slytherin." Another girl walked by us and reached for the door handle.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I warned her.

"Why not?" The girl had a voice similar to the girl inside, but her tone was polite and somewhat friendly. She had a mass of sleek black curls pulled back with silver bobby pins.

"The girl inside there is horrible." Ginny said.

"I can deal with her." the girl countered. I snorted.

"Oh really? Wanna bet?"

"Sure," she answered, surprising me. "How much have you got?"

"Um…" I said, checking my pockets. "A stallion or whatever you call it says you can't annoy her to the point of pulling out her wand before she does the same to you."

"Deal." she answered. I spat into my hand and held it out to her. She hesitated, apparently not thrilled at the idea of touching my spit-covered hand, but she spat into her's, and we shook. The girl took one last look towards us, a bit of a smirk on her face. "By the way: it's a galleon. Not a stallion. But I can tell that you're fairly new to the wizarding world as well, so it's alright." With that, she pushed open the door.

* * *

_Carter Holmes's P.O.V _

I pushed open the door, wiping my hand on my jeans. I sort of liked the girl outside with her chestnut brown wavy hair tied up messily with a piece of ribbon, and large hazel eyes, even though sealing the deal with spit was extremely unhygienic.

The girl inside the compartment looked up at me immediately after my entrance. I quickly looked her up and down. She had grey-green eyes and long auburn hair that was escaping from her messy bun. She was wearing her Hogwarts robes and a harassed expression. The name 'Lena Malfoy' was written on the trunk above her head in gold letters. She was reading a book called 'Hogwarts, A History'. Her wand was tucked behind her ear, and she was twirling a strand of hair around her finger, which had a small scar encircling the base, like a ring. Small golden hoop earrings. Chapped lips. Fair complexion, with a light smattering of freckles. Her fingers were drumming on the book's pages. Either ADHD or caffeine, though irritation could be a factor. I suppressed a smile. This was going to be easy.

"HI!" I said in a much too loud voice. She gave me the sort of look it takes most parents years to master: A mixture of disgust, disapproval, superiority, exasperation, and contempt. "I'm Carter, who're you?" She looked at me as if I was something she had found on a lavatory seat. Apparently deciding this was too direct a question to ignore, and that she couldn't pretend she hadn't heard me, she answered.

"Lena Malfoy." Tenor voice. Traces of a refined accent, though she spoke in a bored drawl.

"Do you know which house you're going to be in?" I asked, voice irritating as ever.

"Well, no one knows for sure, you know, though I would be extremely surprised if I got into anything other than Slytherin. My whole family has been in Slytherin, you see." she said, in a condescending voice.

"Really?!" I said, sitting down next to her. She inched away. I inched closer.

"Of course, mainly only purebloods ever get into Slytherin," she said. "They really shouldn't let the other kind in, don't you think? Muggle-borns, I mean." My blood pressure shot way up. Who did this girl think she was-oh. Another Malfoy. Pureblood advocates. Of course.

"Both my parents are Muggles." I said cheerily, while I mentally ripped out her esophagus.

"Really." She slid away from me, as if being Muggle-born was contagious. "So-o sorry!" Her voice said the opposite. "Nothing personal, of course. It's just purebloods are usually more successful, you know? More natural talent."

"M-hm." I said. I knew I was probably bright red with anger. I could control my voice and expressions, but not the blood rushing to my head. Oh, it's on. I pulled out my cd player and scrolled through the tracks. I selected one song, and prepared to press the replay button. I turned up the volume sky-high. Then, finally, I pressed play.

* * *

_Lena Malfoy's P.O.V_

I could feel the girl's anger coming off her in waves. For a moment I felt bad. _God, Lena! Was that really necessary? Just look at her! She was only trying to be friendly! And you were awful to her!_ Then all of a sudden, music-if it could even be called that-started pouring out of a hand-held gadget. I gritted my teeth. She was testing me, I knew it, and I wasn't going to let that filthy little mudblood win. On the seventh repeat of the song, I could feel a tic going in my temple. She turned up the volume. On the eleventh repeat of the song, my resolve began to waver. On the thirteenth, I turned to her. "Will you please turn that off, or at least down?" She examined me with a smirk worthy of me.

"Mmmm...No." I exhaled slowly, attempting to stay calm. She turned the volume up even more. Something snapped.

"TURN OFF THAT INFERNAL MUGGLE DEVICE!" I shouted, pulling out my wand. She looked as smug as a cat that's just swallowed a cage of canaries. "Reducto." I said, tone deadly soft. The gadget exploded, leaving her holding a little smoldering pile of plastic, glass and metal.

She gave me a cool glare. "Well, that wasn't nice," she said, mockingly. "Reparo." She repaired the object easily, raising an eyebrow as she did so. The gadget repaired itself, and she shut the door behind her. At the angle I was sitting at, I could see out the window in the door. The two girls from before met up with the Carter girl, and as I watched, gold was exchanged.

I felt my chest swell with fury and I realized I had made three enemies and hadn't even set foot in Hogwarts yet. Draco would be proud.

* * *

_Rebecca Granger's P.O.V._

Carter, Ginny and I had found our own compartment and were in hysterical giggles over the Malfoy-ette's defeat. Carter was laughing silently with tears of mirth rolling down her face and I pantomimed Malfoyette blowing up the cd player, and soon all three of us were on the floor in stitches. _The problem is_, I thought, t_hat as soon as we start to wind down, we look at each other and start laughing all over again._ Though the fact we drank about four Butterbeers apiece probably wasn't helping either. Finally, we managed to stop laughing. Ginny was hiccuping like mad, and Carter had the same problem. I had managed to escape from this particular indignity, though I had a butterbeer cap stuck in my hair. I was attempting to pull it out when a voice from behind me said, "Mind if I sit here?" I turned to see a girl with violently purple hair. I mean this stuff was so lavender it hurt my eyes. Not only that, but it was sticking out around her head in a style more common in anime than real life.

"Uhhh…" I said, struck dumb by the color. Egad, that stuff was bright.

"Not at all." said Carter politely. "You're American, aren't you?" she continued.

"Yeah. You're the first person to get it right off the bat." I tried to mask my surprise. I had realized she had a strange accent, of course, but people from other countries usually didn't come to Hogwarts, according to Hermione. Hermione was wrong! I did a happy little dance in my head and made a mental note to rub this in Hermione's face the next time I saw her.

"People from other countries usually don't come to Hogwarts, do they?" asked Carter. Whoa. Was it me, or did she just read my mind?

"No" said the girl. "But my great aunt works there, so I kinda get a free pass."

"Who's your aunt?" asked Ginny, interrupting Carter, who had been about to ask the same question. Carter scowled, most likely at not getting to question first.

"Minerva McGonagall. I'm Helena McGonagall, but if you call me Helena you die. Most people just call me Hell." I'm sure my expression was priceless. She began to laugh. "I'm kidding!" she managed to get out through giggles. Ginny and I collapsed again, our sides heaving. Carter looked disapproving, either at Helena's language or her joke. It wasn't entirely clear which. "But seriously, don't call me Helena. I usually go by my middle name, Brooklyn, or better yet, Brook."

"So then...Brook," Carter began, she picked herself off the floor and arranged herself in a surprisingly dignified position considering what had just occurred, "Your Great Aunt's THE Professor McGonagall?" At this I rolled my eyes. Great, another Hermione. I made a mental note to NEVER introduce them to each other if at all possible.

"Well, yes, I guess she is the only Professor McGonagall at Hogwarts... but I don't see her very much 'cos I live in North Carolina, so I don't exactly know my ole' Auntie very well, if y'all know what I mean."

Carter seemed satisfied with this.

It was just beginning to get dark when Hermione poked her head through the compartment door. "Rebecca, you need to change into your robes, we're almost-" Her voice trailed off as she looked around the compartment. "What have you done!?" I grimaced guiltily. The compartment looked like a war zone. Brook had let her cat out of its cage, and the animal had gone bonkers and scratched the seats to shreds before we could capture her again, not to mention the long grey cat hairs. Ginny had spilled a Butterbeer, a smuggled Fanged Frisbee of Brook's had exploded after coming into contact with her wand, and we were in the middle of a game of Exploding Snap when Hermione came in. Not only that, we had been playing poker with the cards. Of course, they chose moment to explode. "I CAN'T LEAVE YOU ALONE FOR A SECOND BEFORE YOU DESTROY SOMETHING! LOOK AT THIS PLACE!"

I could tell she was going to go into a full fledged rant, unless I did something. Carter beat me to the punch. "Reparo." The cushions' stuffing flew back inside them, and the upholstery knitted back over the repaired foam. The rest of us tried to mimic her though we quickly gave up. Even so in minutes, the compartment looked as if I had never been in it. Hermione sniffed. I could tell she was still miffed, but since Carter repaired it, she couldn't scold us. Luckily, she hadn't noticed the poker game. I was sort of glad it was over, because even though we were only playing for Chocolate Frog cards, I hated losing, and Carter was beating us all miserably.

"Well, anyway, you all have to get on your robes." We did, and collected our various possessions. Not a moment too soon either, because the minute we had assembled ourselves, the train screeched to a halt. We were there.


	4. Chapter 3: Unexpected Developments

**Chapter Three: Unexpected Developments**

_Lena Malfoy's P.O.V._

I stepped off the train, holding Stella's cage under one arm, and _Hogwarts, A History_ under the other. After the blood traitor and two mudbloods had left the compartment no one else was dumb enough to disturb me, and for that I was grateful. A giant man stood, a dark shadow against the already black sky.

"Firs' years o'er here!" He cried and we trudged forward carrying our luggage. "Five to a boat," Much to my dismay, I was shoved onto a boat containing the mudbloods and the blood traitor and- who was _that_? A girl with a spiky shock of purple hair was sitting opposite to me, her robes covered in grey cat hairs. I felt a moment of smug satisfaction at the fact that _my_ cat was black, and her hairs wouldn't show on my robes. The mudbloods and blood traitor brat were glaring daggers at me. I leaned back, unconcerned. I raised one of my eyebrows at the bushy-haired mudblood. She tensed.

"What do you think you're looking at?" she demanded aggressively.

"I could ask you the same thing. You _were_ staring at me first. I understand that I'm gorgeous, but I'm really not interested in _mudbloods_." I put stress on the last word. All four of my companions gasped and sat up indignantly. Granger even briefly flipped me the finger. "Right back at you." I said, smirking. My eyes widened as the mudblood lunged forward and shoved me into the lake. It was _cold._ I gasped for air and treaded water, trying to stay afloat. I tried desperately to keep from hyperventilating. Luckily, Stella hadn't fallen in, but this was hardly any consolation. I hate being wet almost as much as she does, and I was furious. _That filthy little mudblood pushed me!_

"Egad…" the Granger girl mumbled. She looked shocked at what she had done-and a bit proud of it too.

"What's goin' on 'ere?" said a voice from the boat behind me. A huge hand picked me up by the back of my robes. It was the oaf, Hagrid. Never in my entire life have I ever been so glad for an oaf.

"Th-th-thank you." I said, teeth chattering as he wrapped me in his overcoat. It completely enveloped me, and I probably looked like a hobo, but I was so grateful for the warmth, I didn't care. "Wha' 'appened 'ere?" he demanded.

"I-I fell into the lake because-" I was about to rat her out, when I thought the better of it. "Because I thought I saw something down there." I said slowly tasting the sound of the story in my mouth. The Granger girl's face was priceless. "And I leaned over to get a closer look, and I lost my balance."

"Tha's why you fell in?" said Hagrid in a skeptical tone.

"Yes." I replied firmly. He wasn't entirely convinced, but he didn't argue.

"Thanks." muttered the Granger girl.

"Oh, don't thank me." I said with a wicked grin. "I'm just waiting for the perfect moment to pull this out. I would be very nice to me if I were you." She bared her teeth at me and

crossed her arms. I smiled smugly and looked up at the dark sky.

"I wouldn't be looking so smug if I were you." I jumped and looked at the purple haired in surprise. I smirked at her.

"Why not," I smirked, imitating her accent, "Gonna poke me with your hair?" She rolled her eyes and sighed,

"Doesn't _ANYONE_ see the resemblance? Minerva McGonagall is my Great Aunt, all I have to do is mention you calling them mudbloods and you'll be out of here, Just. Like. That." And she snapped her fingers. I growled but kept silent. Father had taught me to choose my battles wisely, and I could tell, the 'McSpiky' was NOT someone I should mess with. I didn't think you could get anything more than a detention for calling people names, but I thought that it would be best not to risk it.

We sailed through a small tunnel under the castle and bumped up onto the shore of what I assumed to be the dungeons. Hagrid lifted us out of the boats one by one and I wondered guiltily why Draco disliked him so much. The oaf led us up a passageway in the rock and came up on the grass in the shadow of the looming castle. We walked up a flight of stone stairs and Hagrid knocked on the huge oak front door.

* * *

_Rebecca Granger's P.O.V._

A tall, black haired witch in emerald green robes opened the door.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said and she pulled the door open wide to show a giant entrance hall with torches lining the walls, a magnificent staircase facing us led to upper floors and the ceiling was impossible to make out.

"I'll take them from here Hagrid." She replied and she led us to an empty chamber a couple down from a large doorway with hundreds of voices floating out of it. The chamber was small, and we stood together our shoulders touching. I edged away from Lena. She was still dripping and a little puddle of lake water was on the forming where she stood. Even though Brook had threatened her, I doubted that she would tolerate with me standing next to her.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," McGonagall said " The start of term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seat in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The sorting is _extremely _important because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house's common room.

"The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will begin in a few short minutes in the front of the Great Hall. I suggest you tidy yourselves up a bit," With this, she threw a skeptical glance at the Malfoy girl. "I will return when we are ready for you,"

She left the chamber and Ginny looked at Brook her eyebrows raised, "Get along well do you?" she asked.

Brook blushed, "She's really not all that bad you know," she pleaded. "She just gets some taking used to." I shrugged. Anyone who would kick Lena Prissypants Malfoy out of Hogwarts was a friend to me. We looked at our feet nervously, a million thoughts rushed through my head. I was more nervous than I let on. I kept on thinking to myself, _What if none of the houses pick me, what if it turns out I'm just a muggle, and I embarrass myself in front of the whole school!_ Lena was currently siphoning water off her robes. She was still damp, but the only way you could tell would be if you noticed that her hair was slightly darker and messier.

A small poltergeist floated in, he adorned a hat covered in bells, and a flashy orange bowtie.

"Are these the ickle firsties?" he crooned, "Oh what fun we'll have!" He spotted Ginny and flew over with a wicked grin. "Another Weasel eh? Well, well, well, Fwedie and Geowgie should appweciate this…" And he attempted to drop a dung bomb on her head, which she dodged, as the ghost sped away, cackling madly.

"Peeves the poltergeist, he's been here since 1793" Carter whispered.

Professor McGonagall came in again and told us to form a line. "Follow me." I got between Lena Malfoy and Ginny and tried to put on my brave face that probably looked more like a grimace, partly because of the smell and partly because of what lay ahead of me. We walked out of the chamber, across the hall, and through a pair of large double doors into the Great Hall.

* * *

_Carter Holmes's P.O.V_

The Great Hall was amazing. Truly amazing, astonishing, astounding, breathtaking, and EPIC. The Hall's ceiling was dotted with stars-I realized it was a mirror image of the sky outside. Thousands and thousands of candles floated in midair above the four long tables, where all the other students were sitting. The tables were laid with golden plates and goblets, but there was no food or drink in sight. At the top of the Hall was another long table stretching the width of the hall where the teachers were sitting. We came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers to our back. Hundreds of faces stared down at us, and I felt my palms get sweaty. I wiped them on my robes and searched the crowd for Hermione. I focused my attention on Professor McGonagall again as she sat a four legged stool in front of us. On top of the stool she rested an old, frayed, and extremely dirty, wizard's hat.

I stared at it, and realized everyone else was too. _Would this be the decider of my fate?_ I wondered. There was complete silence. The hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide as if it was a mouth, and the hat began to sing:

"_There once were four friends,_

_Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin too,_

_the four witches and wizards,_

_they got together, to create a school for you._

_Proud Gryffindor they call him,_

_valued the brave and the true,_

_if you have nerve, and daring, and yet are caring,_

_then that is the house for you._

_Brilliant dear Ravenclaw, _

_yearned for ready minds,_

_if you have smarts and love learning,_

_then there you will find your kind._

_And then there's sweet Hufflepuff,_

_if you are patient and just,_

_loyalty and kindness,_

_you will find there as well as trust._

_Finally there's ole' Slytherin,_

_there you'll find your friends,_

_if you are witty and cunning,_

_then you'll feel at home here till' the end._

_I have never been wrong of that I must say,_

_but if you feel I have messed up,_

_you may seek me out and talk to me,_

_I'll show you a sort of thinking cup._

_I may grow older every day, but I promise I don't forget,_

_so I ask you all to remember the past,_

_for it grows near again,_

_and its approaching rather fast._

_don't be afraid now dearies,_

_now at last you're houses I shall choose,_

_for if you look for the silver lining,_

_you never really lose."_

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. The hat bowed to each of the four tables and then seemed to freeze again. I felt relieved that we didn't have to do some sort of test, but the sorting hat didn't seem much better. I felt lucky to have made any friends at all today, (mind you, I'm not very good with organic life forms) but I didn't think I would have as much luck making more friends if I got sorted into a different house than Rebecca. I swear, that girl may be crazy, but she seemed to be a human magnet. She could get along with anyone (other than that Malfoy girl). If not for her, the next seven years would be long and lonely. Not that I needed friends. My father didn't really have a friend most of his life, and he turned out just fine! (Well, mostly, but more on that later.)

However, I was distracted by these thoughts as Professor McGonagall stepped forward, holding a long roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you shall put the hat on and sit on the stool to be sorted." she said.

"Amor, Egregie!"

A dark haired boy, who looked slightly green, walked up to the hat. It barely touched his head before the hat shouted, "RAVENCLAW!"

Yet another name was called by Professor McGonagall.

"Azore, Jace!" Another one of my peers was called up to have the hat placed on her head. Her long matted brown hair fell into her eyes, obscuring most of her face. Her hands shook. Her sorting was quite the opposite of the boy's before her. The hat upon her head seemed quite indecisive indeed. The hat made motions to and fro as though it was speaking, but no sound could be heard. Jace Azore's facial reactions seemed as if she could hear it though.

"SLYTHERIN!" it shouted.

_Interesting_, I thought. _So it reads and speaks into your mind! Well then, it better know what is best. _Except, of course, the fact that I myself wasn't quite sure about what house I would fit best in. Ravenclaw sounded so great! I knew I always had a thirst for knowledge and wisdom, a trait I had inherited from my father. However, I also from my mother had the traits of a Gryffindor and Hufflepuff; her bravery when things really get tough, and her never-ending loyalty. My father was always ambitious and craved to prove the fact that he was a genius (something he had done many times, but he was so stuck-up about it everyone refused to admit it).

This identity crisis was really making my brain hurt.

_Rebecca Granger's P.O.V_

"Creevey, Colin!"

"Catura, Kotu!"

"Doverie, Veritas!"

"Floare, Drosera!"

"Floare, Silene!"

"Floare, Raflesia!"

The Professor rattled off names until she got to 'Gagwilde, Brian, the fourth!' I took a deep breath, realizing I was probably next. Professor McGonagall called my name. I was terrified, but I tried to mask the shaking of my hands by tightly clenching my robes. There was some confused murmuring at the Gryffindor table, and I could see Hermione's face turn pink. _Gee, glad to know that you talk about me, _I thought as I sat down. The Hat was placed on my head. _A Granger, eh? I remember your sister. I almost put her in Ravenclaw, see? _Great. Even the Hat knows my stupid sibling. Just for once it might be nice to not be known as Hermione the Genius's little sister. _A attitude, huh? And a desire to prove yourself-Slytherin would be a good option for you._ 'NO!' I thought frantically. 'I'm muggleborn remember?' I thought in return. _No, you're right. And you're brave, that I can see clearly. Well, it had better be... "GRYFFINDOR!" _I hopped off the stool, grinning like a mad thing as the Gryffindor table erupted into cheers.

* * *

_Carter Holmes's P.O.V_

As my peers continued their sorting nervous and shaking, I patiently waited, my migraine really starting to act up. Finally, Professor McGonagall came to my long awaited name.

"Holmes, Carter." A mixed reaction was received by this announcement, different by muggleborns, and those purebloods who were without the culture of the muggle world seeping into their little segregation bound heads. My father had really quite made his mark in the muggle world, solving crimes almost impossibly fast with his sweater-wearing companion, John Hamish Watson.

I marched up to the Hat, my face a careful mix of apathy and confidence. Professor McGonagall placed the Hat on my head, which was oddly heavy. _Ooh, I like this one. Tricky, tricky. '_Not really', I thought back. _Oh really. What do you think then? _The hat sounded slightly miffed. 'Ravenclaw would be a good choice, as I'm extremely smart, but I'm not very interested in studying, and am rather lazy when it comes to finishing schoolwork. That also rules out Hufflepuff, as I am not hard working, or particularly friendly. That leaves Slytherin and Gryffindor. While Slytherins are cunning and witty, which are both traits I possess, I happen to have background knowledge, and mainly only purebloods get into Slytherin, and if all of my companions are purebloods, I'm not exactly going to fit in. That leaves only Gryffindor.'

_I see. _I felt a moment of triumph. _However, I also see that you are not entirely certain, and while the lecture you just gave me has a ring of truth, you mainly want to get into Gryffindor to be with your friend. That shows Slytherin and Ravenclaw traits, the ability to think on your feet and a manipulating disposition. _My heart sank slightly. _However, I think you are right. You should go to... "GRYFFINDOR!" _ Cheers rang from the Gryffindor table as I went to join them.

"What took you so long?" asked Rebecca as I sat down next to her.

"Was I there for a long time?" I asked, slightly surprised.

"Yeah, you were up there for forever." I began to respond, but she elbowed me to be quiet. "Shh, look it's almost Malfoy's turn. She's practically green! Don't know what she's worried for. It's obvious she'll be in Slytherin, git that she is."

* * *

_Lena Malfoy's P.O.V_

I was shaking, partly out of nervousness, and partly because I was still soaked from my unexpected dip in the lake. McGonagall called my name. I stepped up, aware of every eye on me. I wore my best haughty expression as she placed the Hat on my head. _Heh. This will be easy. _'Slytherin, Slytherin, please let me be in Slytherin.' I prayed silently. _But why do you want to be in Slytherin? I don't think it's what you _really _want. You just want to please your family. _ Part of me was defencive. 'Well, why shouldn't I want to please my family?' I thought. But another part of me knew it was right. _Of course I'm right. I always am. You just don't belong in Slytherin. Especially with _your _history. Ravenclaw… no, you're smart, but not as devoted to your studies as most of them are. You've got a mischievous streak a mile wide. You'll be best in "GRYFFINDOR!_"

"Wait, what!?" I cried. Everyone was staring at me. Even McGonagall seemed shocked as she took the Hat off my head. I swallowed and made my way to the Gryffindor table. It was silent, except for a few half hearted claps from Hagrid that died almost as soon as they started. The worst thing was Draco's hurt expression as I sat down as far from the other Gryffindors as possible. "Dad's going to kill me," I muttered, slightly hysterical. I blushed furiously and hastily brushed away the stinging tears building around the rims of my eyes. McGonagall cleared her throat and called her niece's name. At least the purple haired girl was good for something, taking the attention off me. She was sorted into Gryffindor, much to my annoyance. Now all of the people who hated me were in the same house as me. I slumped lower. I couldn't possibly be more miserable.


	5. Chapter 4: Mudbloods and Scum

**Chapter Three: Mudbloods and Scum**

_Rebecca Granger's P.O.V_

Hermione slid next to me to congratulate me and to ask if _I_ knew where Ron and Harry were, but I shrugged her off. I mean I'd never even met them!I pretty much ignored the rest of the Sorting and all of Dumbledore's speech, other than the part about the new teacher, Professor Lockhart, a disgustingly handsome wizard with gelled hair and a blinding white crooked smile. I congratulated Ginny when she got into Gryffindor but other than that I was unusually silent. Malfoy was slumped over, and looked so miserable I would have felt sorry for her, except for the fact she was glaring at anyone who glanced at her and muttering things like 'Gryffindor! Of all the houses to choose from, it just had to be Gryffindor.' and 'Mudbloods and scum.' I kept catching snatches of this, and grew more and more angry. I made an impulsive decision. I whispered to my friends, spelling out the plan. Was it mean? Probably. Was it unwise? Most definitely. We didn't care. She was being a jerk, and we weren't going to make it easy. We slid over to sit next to her. She gave us the sort of look that could melt stone with the sheer hatred it contained.

"Hi!" I said brightly. If it was possible, her glare became even more withering. "We were just going to congratulate you on getting into Gryffindor." She looked at me in a way that inquired if I was suicidal. She then turned away from me. I poked her. I poked her again. "_Po-o-oke!_" I said, drawing out the word. Again, "Poke. Poke. Poke."

* * *

_Carter Holmes's P.O.V_

Okay. Fine. Was it immature? Yes. Was it unnecessary? Most definitely. Would my father be disappointed in me had he been present? Of course. We were eleven, and that Malfoy girl seriously needed to be poked.

* * *

_Rebecca Granger's P.O.V_

The Malfoy-ette spun around, teeth clenched. "Tell me" she said, voice brimming over with hatred, "Are you suicidal? Or just stupid?" I wasn't really shocked at her words, but I was slightly surprised at the faint glimmer of tears, threatening to spill over if she was pushed much farther.

"Just insane." responded Brook cheerfully. "And if I were you, I would be very, very nice to us, seeing as we outnumber you and all the first year girls are in the same dormitory."

She gave us a look that quite clearly said "Lord, why me?" and responded. "If you were me, then I'd be you. And if I were you, I would be running as fast as possible in the opposite direction. Because I've got an extremely short temper, a long memory and more than a touch of sadistic genius." After this announcement she stood up and marched away, as the rest of the students were dismissed as well.

* * *

_Lena Malfoy's P.O.V_

I bit my lip, trying hard not to cry. Not only was I in Gryffindor, I was stuck with four people who hated my guts and I theirs. On top of all of that, my parents would be furious. Draco was right, they would probably disown me. The prefects led us to a large portrait that comprised of a fat lady in a pink dress that was most unfortunately tight and low cut. I couldn't repress a sneer of disgust. Pink dresses. Someone gave me one once. I burned it.

"The password is 'wattlebird'" said a tall redheaded prefect in a bossy voice. Probably another Weasley. "Remember that everyone." The portrait swung to the side, revealing a cozy room in red and gold. A blazing fire roared in the fireplace, and deep armchairs were placed around the room. I hated to admit it, but this place was epic. "This is the Common Room." stated the prefect. Girl's dorms are on the right, boy's on the left." The girls filed up the appropriate staircase, though one acne scarred seventh year girl got caught attempting to disappear into the boys dorms. My dorm was labeled _First Years_ in neat gold lettering. I stepped inside and spotted my things at the bed closest to the window. I sat down gloomily and fell back onto my bed. After several minutes I realized that, strangely, I was the only one in the room. Then I heard several pairs of feet stomping up the stairs.

"Did you hear- Ron and Harry-stolen car- my mother- in the whomping willow- caught by one of the professors-" I only caught snippets of the conversation, but from it I was able to conclude that Ginny's brother and Potter had stolen some sort of flying car from the Weasleys parents and flown to Hogwarts, crashing into some sort of Whomping Willow and gotten caught by a professor. I snickered darkly. Served them right for being born, the filthy blood traitor and Harry Potter. I didn't care if father thought he might be the Dark Lord's successor. From what Draco told me, he was a filthy good for nothing stuck up prat. The rest of my dorm filed in, Ginerva Weasley blushing furiously, Granger and the purple explosion in hysterics and the Carter girl pursing her lips in disapproval but with an amused twinkle in her eyes. When they saw me glowering in the corner their voices dropped to hushed whispers and they each walked to their own bunk. The Granger girl was on my left and McGonagall was on my right with Ginevra and Ms Know-it-all on either side of the doorway. They changed into pajamas without another word spoken and I flopped down on to my four poster, fully clothed. As soon as my head touched the pillow I fell into a fitful, restless sleep.


	6. Chapter 5: Lena In a Pit

**Chapter Four: In which Lena falls into a pit of Self (and others) Loathing**

_Carter Holmes's P.O.V_

I've always been an early riser, though I wasn't the only one in the dorm. Lena was already gone when I woke up at 5:30, bed neatly made. Her cat glanced up lazily, and yawned pointedly. "Well screw you too." I said, and then felt annoyed at myself for talking to a cat. I must be going sort of crazy. Probably got that habit from my mum. Toby, our cat, could apparently not go without a conversation with dear mother. I went down to the Great Hall, and was rather disappointed to see that there was no food. There was, however, a pitcher of coffee that a teacher had left. I poured myself a Styrofoam cup, and quickly left before the teacher had a chance to come back. I went outside and wandered around the lake, enjoying the misty air. As I came to a willow tree, I heard voices, raised in argument.

"When I was teasing you about getting into Gryffindor, it wasn't a challenge!"

I hid behind the tree as they came closer.

"I feel bad enough already Draco! God, give it a rest! I didn't _ask_ to be put in Gryffindor!" It was Lena.

"Just because you didn't ask doesn't mean it's not your fault." Her companion was a tall, pale blonde in Slytherin robes.

"Don't you think it's worse for me?! But no one's saying 'Gee Lena, that sort of sucks for you', are they? No one's saying 'I'm sorry you're in Gryffindor with a bunch of mudbloods and crazy yahoos'. But _NOOO!_ Instead I get 'Lena, how could you, you've put our family to shame'. As if I had any say in the matter!" she said, voice rising.

"You were right about one thing. You have brought shame to the family."

"Ooh, the _family_. You're like a broken record! All you care about is the _family_. More like the family's honor that is. If you actually cared about the family you would be less concerned about _shame_ and more concerned about the fact I'm stuck in a room with mudbloods, the purple haired devil spawn, and a Weasley blood traitor."

"You should fit in just fine then, _blood traitor._ And speaking of the family, I wonder what Mum and Dad will make of this?" I could hear the sneer in his voice.

"Don't tell them!" Her voice shifted, and she sounded panicked. "_Please _Draco! They'll be furious!"

"It's too late. I sent them an owl last night." There was smug victory in his voice as his footsteps crunched away on the slightly frosty grass. I watched as Lena stood alone by the side of the lake. She stared at it, as if she was contemplating whether or not to drown herself in it. Then she turned and trudged away, the mist unable to consume the glow of her red hair. _Well, that wasn't dramatic at _all_, _I thought sarcastically.

Should I talk to her? I listed out the reasons why I should and shouldn't. She'd try her best not to hit me, masking her emotions. She might force me to tell not a soul. Would I? She did deserve the secret out. But I'm no Slytherin. And my mother, loyal as ever, would definitely have me follow her example. Maybe I should try to befriend her? I could! She could definitely be used as an advantage to myself. I could even possibly on the plus side convince her that Gryffindor isn't all that bad. HA! It might take years. _Then years it'll take. _I needed a goal to set myself while I was here. The spells would be obviously too easy. I'd already memorized most in my spellbook. So, my goal this year: Befriend Lena Malfoy, whether she liked it or not.

* * *

_Rebecca Granger's P.O.V._

I woke up and groggily wiped the sleep out of my eyes. Carter and Malfoy had left the room and Brook was still sleeping, but Ginny was digging through her trunk furiously. I went over to see what she was doing but quickly snapped her trunk closed when I got close. She looked up.

"Sorry, I thought you were the Malfoy-ette," she said. I noticed she kept her trunk closed.

Brook, Ginny, and I proceeded down to the Dining hall together. After several dead ends and wrong turns we descended down the great staircase but halfway down Brook's foot got stuck in a disappearing step. We pulled her foot out, but not before many more people came flooding down the staircase. A boy with messy black hair and a thin scar shaped like a lightning bolt I recognized as Harry Potter came up to us accompanied by Ron, the youngest of Ginny's four older brothers attending Hogwarts. Ginny ducked her head and blushed as Harry said hello and was silent the rest of the way down to the Great Hall.

After we had exhausted the fun of teasing Ginny, Brook and I scanned the Hall for Carter while ravenously consuming food. Suddenly, Brook started to choke. I smacked her on the back. "What is it?" I asked. Eyes watering, she pointed across the Hall, where Carter was _talking_ to the Malfoyette. And the Malfoyette was giving her a somewhat civil look. I watched, feeling slightly sick as Carter said something and Malfoyette gave a crooked half smile. "What the-?" said Brook, communicating my feelings perfectly. "Hell." I finished.

* * *

_Lena Malfoy's P.O.V_

I was, much to my surprise, adapting. Although it would probably secure my title as a 'blood traitor' in Draco's eyes, I didn't care. Carter was actually quite bright, and while I wouldn't go so far as to call her a friend, I knew she wouldn't slit my throat while I was sleeping. My other roommates were another story. I was quite certain that all of the "accidents" that had taken place were actually assassination attempts, and the fact that I did quite well in the one class we'd had so far today, Charms, didn't seem to endear me to them either.

Soon it became apparent that our DADA teacher, Professor Lockhart, was an absolute idiot. He started with a long speech about how amazing he was, dramatically swirling his turquoise robes as he paced. I wasn't really paying attention until he announced that there was going to be a quiz on all of his books. I muttered something unspeakable under my breath. I had tried reading the first chapter of _Travels with Trolls_, but had soon thrown the book away with disgust. I looked at the paper.

_1. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?_

_2. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?_

_ , in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date?_

I looked up in disbelief. _This_ was his idea of a quiz?! It was composed of fifty four questions, down three sides of paper. I smirked. My opinion of Lockhart was rapidly dropping, and it wasn't that high to begin with.

Under question one I drew a cat. Under number two, I wrote "To die a slow and painful death? Because that's what he must want, making a quiz like this." Under number three I wrote "WHAT achievements?" For the rest of the questions I wrote a long poem about how ridiculous people are who wear turquoise robes, and how I love to rip out people's throats with my teeth, and what sound it makes when you plunge a knife into one's chest.

_The shink of the blade and the gush of the blood_

_I don't feel guilty, cleaning your veins of mud._

I finished with drawing an extremely unflattering drawing of Lockhart just as he cried "Time's up!" I couldn't get out of class fast enough. I was feeling thoroughly disgusted, a little pleased by my wittiness, and doubtful of my parent's decision to send me here. Our first potions lesson was next though, and I was thrilled.

We descended into the dungeons, shouldering our heavy potions equipment. Except me of course, as I had used magic to shrink them, so they fitted neatly into my shoulder bag. When Carter and I got to the dungeons, we were early, so we waited outside until Snape dismissed the class before us, which had run late. He looked surprised to see us.

"You're early." he drawled.

"No, we merely don't get lost. Getting lost is such a waste of time." said Carter in a mild tone, smiling pleasantly. He gave her a look I couldn't quite interpret. His eyes fell on me, widening slightly. I couldn't think what I had done to get that reaction. He stared at me for half a second before turning on his heel and marching back into his classroom. "You may both come in and prepare for the lesson, as long as you do not bother me." Carter and I exchanged looks before going in and silently taking out our Potions equipment as he wrote on the blackboard. The rest of the class filed in, including Slytherins, as we had double Potions with them. There was quite a lot of whispering as they spotted me. I responded with my best death glare. Professor Snape turned to face the class.

"I am Professor Snape. You will always address me as 'Professor' or 'sir'. I am the one who has, unfortunately, been assigned the tedious task of teaching you Potions. I expect many of you to fail. Not everyone possesses the ability to appreciate the silver shimmer of fumes, the beauty of a well-brewed potion, the humbling realization that you could be killed with a single drop of seemingly harmless liquid. Many of you will not consider this magic, as there is no foolish wand waving, or ridiculous incantations,"

I looked over to roll my eyes at Carter, only to realize that she was not there. Instead there was a scrawny hyperactive boy with a camera around his neck. I recognized him as Colin Creevey. I scanned the classroom to find her only to realize she was sitting next to Granger, who was chatting up a storm with the boys behind her and the clashing red and purple explosions in front of them. I slumped down in my seat seething. Stupid mudblood.

* * *

_Carter Holmes's P.O.V_

I quickly began to wish that I had stayed with Lena as a partner. The potion we were doing was ridiculously complicated and within the first twenty minutes I was frizzy haired and frazzled, my potion giving off large amounts of thick, sulfurous smoke. Much to my vexation, Lena was perfectly calm, even happy. And who wouldn't be, in her position? Her potion was textbook, perfect to the T. Snape, who had scathing things to say about everyone else's potions looked it over and I saw a faint smile on his lips which melted into a look of sadness and- could it be?- Longing. As much as this confused me I realized that I had tough competition on who would be top of our class, and so far I was losing. Snarling, I returned to my cauldron of failure.

All of the chemistry experiments I had done did not seem to help a bit. I supposed it was because this concoction was magic. Heaven forbid logic come into play! It would be absolutely horrible if I were to add an ingredient out of order, never mind the fact that I added the ingredient that should've come first directly afterward. I decided that I liked chemistry much better, where things are logical and rational. Professor Snape was not in the least sympathetic, and gave me detention. "This is a potions class, not a debate on magic vs. Muggles." I snuck a glance at Rebecca. Her face showed a clear _Oh no he didn't._ Indeed. Another biased teacher?! I had had enough of bias in primary school. I closed my eyes and flashed back. '_Yes. Your daughter is quite smart, ...for a female," _I remember that day quite clearly in my mind. My father always thought I hadn't overheard, but that was illogical. Sitting outside my teacher's door, I could hear every word of that misogynist. I could also hear every word of my father yelling in response. It was very lucky that my mother had stopped father before he could do some very serious damage.

But I was SO DONE with biased teachers to me, be it '_She's smart for a girl' _or '_Thank god she isn't a psychopath like her parents'. _Yes, I am a GIRL. That shouldn't mean anything to you. I can do anything that a man could do, possibly because of the fact that I am female, I could do anything a man could do BETTER. Yes, my parents are not the best at being social, and my father does not like to show emotion at times. The thing is, my father is the person who has the most emotion out of everyone. He prefers to hide it, but if you look just close enough, just look him right in the eye, and you will see, he is emotionally damaged, not emotionally vacant. I finally thought, that here, at a new school, I would be able to have a fresh start. But apparently here, being of unmagical blood was the new version of "for a girl".

That was it. Carter Holmes had had ENOUGH. I carefully put on my normally reserved mask of emotion. A back up plan for the emotionally damaged: Be apathetic, condescending, and often cruel. It had worked dozens of times. A smirk that my father would have been proud of made it's way onto my face.

"Don't worry Professor...I wouldn't engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed person." I sneered.

I got a week of detentions. It was worth it.

* * *

_Rebecca Granger's P.O.V_

Hermione would kill me for shouting in class. But—"OH MY GOD CARTER THAT WAS SO BLOODY AWESOME!" I shrieked, attracting a disapproving glare from a nearby Slytherin. I stuck my tongue out at him before turning back to Carter. She raised an eyebrow at my shouting in class, but seemed pleased. "Did you see that Lena girl though?" I asked, feeling annoyed at her perfect performance that was usually reserved for Hermione. "_Perfect._ It makes me sick. She _must_ be cheating, the prat. I really can't believe it. It's like she's following different directions! She's already Snape's favorite." Someone pushed past us, making Brook drop her books. " What was that for!" I said indignantly, turning to catch a glimpse of wavy red hair. Lena. Immediately, I felt guilty. Sure, she deserved it, but I was being childish and cruel. There was no reason for me to lower myself to her level, just because-well-I was jealous. Whoa. I think I just had a breakthrough. Maybe Lena really wasn't that bad, I thought optimistically. If only I had an idea of what was coming next, I would have hexed her into a jelly.

Carter, who I was beginning to regard as a bit of a genius, was trying to explain quantum physics and a show she watched called Doctor Who. Lena regarded the whole thing with bemusement, skeptical about the idea that Muggles could capture sound and moving images. Lena listened for a few minutes, but started laughing and making derogatory remarks over the show's representation of time travel.

"A blue box does not have the power to spirit oneself through time and space!" she argued. "How could Muggles possibly-" Brook cut her off.

"Lena, the rest of us are attempting to talk about a show, so if you would shut up!" I got the feeling we would probably regret being rude to her from the smile that came over her face as she walked away, but I pushed it out of my mind as I heard about how the Doctor brandished his sonic screwdriver at yet another enemy. We listened to Carter's droning for a while longer, but soon I felt my eyelids sagging. Not even the dramatic climax could ward off exhaustion. My head dropped onto Brook's shoulder. She was already asleep. Within seconds I was out like a light.

I woke up with a jolt of pain.

"OW!" I screamed, as my hair was pulled from behind. Everyone else was awake too. "Everyone stop moving!" Carter ordered with a yelp of pain. Everyone obeyed.

"What is it?" asked Ginny, wincing. Brook was trying to contain her laughter.

"Someone-" she gasped, tears of mirth rolling down her face, "Someone braided your hair together, and tied it to the wall." With much difficulty, we undid the tight braid, though we had to cut off a few inches at the bottom where it was anchored to the wall. Though Carter and Ginny also were braided, since my hair was longest I was the one whose hair was unceremoniously chopped off. We all had to skip breakfast because of the delay. Carter smiled half heartedly.

"If you want, Rebecca, I believe I can indeed dye the ends of your hair later, in order to make the cut a bit less noticeable." It was something that she indeed seemed sincere about. _Huh, _I thought. _She really wants me to be her friend. Which of course she already is, but still. _I guess my face started to be a bit pitying or sympathetic, because Carter's face immediately went back to its default expression of a mix of boredom and slight apathy. Only Brook had escaped the indignity, but Carter seemed unfazed at the fact that Lena- because that's who it had to be- had tied us all to the wall.

"It really was effective, if not particularly clever." remarked Ginny as we plotted our revenge. I smiled grimly. Lena was going to regret this, and I was going to enjoy it. The prank war was on.


	7. Chapter 6: Let the Prank War Begin

**Chapter Five: Let the Prank War Begin**

_Lena Malfoy's P.O.V_

I was on pins and needles all throughout the day. Carter and the others were whispering darkly to each other all throughout Charms. I saw with satisfaction and a tiny twinge of guilt that the Granger mudblood's hair was about three inches shorter. It seemed that though Carter was majorly peeved, she also was extremely pleased that she had an excuse to be a part of whatever was coming next. Between expeditious conversation, she dyed the ends of her own hair a deep blue. Who would've thought that the mudblood had a fashion streak? Brook, though not targeted in last night's prank, was completely immersed in conversation. I grinned, and waited for when she realized that the prank that targeted her was being put into motion.

* * *

_Brook McGonagall's P.O.V_

It was after lunch time when I noticed something was up.

"Ginny" I hissed out of the corner of my mouth. She jumped, startled and slipped a notebook back into her bag.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"You know Crabbe and Goyle?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Is it just me or have they been staring at me for a while?" Ginny looked discreetly over at them.

"Yeah, it's not just you," Carter chimed in."They've been staring at you for the past half hour, which is, incidentally, when Lena walked over to talk to her brother at lunch." I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. "Damn her." I muttered under my breath. I went to Herbology with a sinking feeling that increased when I saw that Crabbe and Goyle were pressed up against the greenhouse glass, practically salivating. What they were doing out of class though, I had no idea. Lena was bent over her mandrake, overcome with a fit of giggles. I facepalmed.

At dinner I was assaulted by the two. They walked up to my table.

"What?" I snapped, drumming my wand into my other palm, itching to curse them. They turned a shade of crimson, muttering incoherently. "That's what I thought." I said, spinning around. I ignored them with incredible self control, and tried to preserve my dignity. Lena ducked under the table, tears streaming down her face in a vain attempt to not laugh. After five minutes I felt like I couldn't ignore them any longer.

"Are you still there?" I asked, not turning around. More mumbling.

"I'll put it in terms you can wrap your Nethandral brains around. GO AWAY, OR I'LL HEX YOU INTO OBLIVIATION!" I stood up to face them. Crabbe wore a stupid smile.

"I love it when you talk tough." I was dumbfounded.

"It sounds so cute in her accent." agreed Goyle. At this point the Gryffindor table was laughing uproariously. I didn't bother with magic. I punched Crabbe in the face, feeling his stupid nose break under my fist.

"HELENA BROOKLYN McGONAGALL!" shouted my aunt, looking furious. Crabbe stumbled backwards, a goofy grin on his face, blood trickling down his face. The Gryffindor table howled. Aunt McGonagall marched towards me, wearing her most stern expression. Both Crabbe and I were marched out of the Hall. Madame Pomfrey gave me a very evil glare as she rushed him off to the infirmary.

"I am very disappointed in you." she hissed. "I had to work very hard to get you into this school, and you're throwing away that chance if you continue to behave like this." Her words hit me like a punch in the stomach.

"But-"

"There's nothing else to say. I'm giving you a detention on Monday in hopes this will teach you a lesson." I sulked away, vowing revenge on Lena Malfoy.

* * *

_Carter Holmes's P.O.V_

"Order, _order_!" I shouted. We were having a war council in a quiet corner of the common room. Or at least it _was_ quiet. Everyone from our dormitory with the exclusion of Lena was there, with the addition of the Weasley twins. They were identical down to the last freckle. They grinned at me.

"Look George, the ickle firstie is giving orders!" Fred crooned mockingly.

"So adorable when they try to take charge." agreed his twin. I glared, and though they continued to smile, they backed down.

"I think we all know why we're here. The Malfoy girl needs to be punished. Not only did she braid Rebecca, Ginny and I to the wall, she spiked Crabbe and Goyle's lunch with love potion, so they are now infatuated with Brook." Fred and George had stopped smiling at the mention of the prank on their sister, but they looked rather admiring of her pranks.

"A girl after my own heart." said George. Ginny frowned.

"So, what do you want to do to her? We've got half a can of itching powder left over."

I nodded in approval.

"That _might_ work, though she'll be expecting a direct attack. I was thinking we would do two pranks, one to make her let her guard down, and then, when she's not expecting it, go in and hit her with another prank." Fred and George nodded in approval, looking impressed.

"Also," I continued, "Do we want to target her, or someone close to her?"

"Like who?" asked Fred.

"As far as I can see, there are two targets. Her cat, Stella, or her brother, Draco. To do something bad to Stella would be animal cruelty, so we would have to prank Draco, which I'm more than sure Harry and Ronald would be more than happy to help us with." I glanced over at the aforementioned pair. Looks of pure yearning for the blood of a certain blonde were on their faces.

"Definitely." The two responded.

A battle plan began to take shape, a work of art that depended on timing, luck, and following my instructions to the letter. I grinned. Lena wouldn't know what hit her.

* * *

_Lena Malfoy's P.O.V_

I walked out of the great hall feeling smug. A day had gone by and I hadn't been pranked. I realized that the mudblood with the 'genius' father wasn't as smart as I'd thought, though probably had decided that if she kept it on the down low she could surprise me. I had been on pins and needles all day, so she would have to be extremely good to catch me off guard. I walked up the grand staircase and hoped over the vanishing step, which I had discovered on the second day of school on my way to meet Draco at the lake. The closer I got to the dorm the tenser I got. If I was correct, and the Holmes girl was indeed trying to lure me into a false sense of security, the prank was probably being put into action at that very minute. As soon as these thoughts had formed I heard whispering behind a portrait next to me. I stood in front of it and the whispering got quieter, until I heard footsteps rushing away from me and farther into the passage. I opened the portrait and dashed through, chasing after them, as the prank was definitely in the corridor behind me. After a while I realized that the whispers were gone and that I should probably head back to the dorm, but when I turned around there was nothing but solid wall. That was when I realized that I had fallen for the prank, hook, line,and sinker and that now I was in a secret passage with no apparent way out. I continued on my way forward as that was the only way to go. After I had traveled down the corridor for what seemed like ages I came to an open painting and relieved I clambered out of it. There waiting for me was none other than Peeves the poltergeist. He smiled at me wickedly and pointed his finger at me I ducked expecting a direct hit but instead he sealed the passage behind me.

"Peeves" I whispered dangerously, "let me go or face the consequences".

"Silly girl," he smirked. " You don't scare me." he knocked down several knights and bellowed furiously, " STUDENTS OUT OF BED! FIFTH FLOOR CORRIDOR!" I heard feet running down the hall towards me and I sprinted the opposite way in the direction I hoped the Gryffindor dormitory was in.

Filch grabbed my arm.

"What'd you think you're doing out of bed?" he asked with a leering smile. I decided to go with the response that was most likely to throw him off guard.

"The voices told me to." I said, opening my eyes wide in false lunacy.

"Wha-" He began, losing his grip.

"This isn't real! This is all a dream!" I shouted, running away.

As I turned the corner, I heard Peeves say in a serious voice,

"You really need to stop talking to yourself. People will think you've gone mad."

* * *

_Rebecca Granger's P.O.V_

I waited uncomfortably for Carter's signal. She had given us all some sort of communicator, and I kept my eyes on Lena, waiting.

"Alright, go ahead." I jumped as her voice issued out of the bracelet thingy.

I darted out from behind the statue, following her on cat feet. I ducked into a

classroom as she turned around, almost catching me. It was five in the morning, and just as Carter had predicted, Lena was heading out to the lake. There wasn't much cover, but the fog was so thick she would have a hard time spotting me. She met Draco there. I shivered. Carter had said this would happen too. That girl could be a bit scary. I took out my wand and the small pellets that Carter had given me.

"They're supposed to attract the giant squid." she had informed me. "You only have four though, so your aim has to be good. Attach them to Lena and Draco's clothing without them noticing. I found a reference in this book, that's all about giant squids. It really is a _horrid_ book, but it had the information I needed. When I told Harry that we were going to use it to prank Draco, he was more than happy to steal it for us. He was practically radiant."

I used my wand to levitate the squid attractors onto the hems of their robes. I grinned. Perfect, and I didn't even have to use the spares. I glanced across the pond. The barely visible silhouettes of the others were filing in. I pressed a small button on my communicator.

"Carter, I'm ready." I breathed.

"Good. Get rid of the squid attractors and get out of there." she replied. I burned the pellets, hoping desperately that they wouldn't smell the burning plastic and chemicals.

I began to creep out from behind my hiding place behind a tree, when I ducked back behind it as I heard Draco's raised voice.

"Idiot girl!" That didn't sound like a loving brother. I heard an angry retort and a choking sob. Right as I was about to jump up and scream to her to jump back, as I now felt horrid, I heard a soft splash and tentacles reaching out of the water.

"GET OUT OF THE BLOODY WAY!" I screamed and leapt forward only to land on the soft grass. I looked up to see the two victims being pulled into the middle of the lake and then to my horror being dropped as the giant squid sank under. I screamed and waved my arms to get the others attention and I heard faint calls from the other side of the lake. _How could the plan go so terribly wrong? _I wondered. We had only meant to scare them but Draco was swimming away for his life, it seemed, and Lena was in the middle thrashing and shouting.

"HOLY [something unprintable] I CAN'T [something else that's highly censored] SWIM!" _Oh dear gods, _I thought. Not even two months in of my first year and I'm well on my way to being expelled. Father was right. I was doing exactly what he had warned me about. Lena seemed to be being pulled underwater by the swirling whirlpool the squid had created sinking beneath the surface. This was a horrible idea. I saw from the opposite bank a tall figure that had to be one of the twins take off his coat and dive in. I raced around to the other end of the lake, my lungs almost bursting at my adrenaline driven sprint. The sopping pair hauled themselves onto the bank, gasping for breath. Lena coughed up a considerable amount of water. George, who was the twin who stayed on the bank, shook his head as he looked at his shivering twin.

"You do realize you could've just used magic, you great heroic prat?"

"Well," Fred replied once he recovered his breath, grinning up at his brother, "I figured it would be more dramatic if I dove in. However," he finished, sneezing, "I didn't take the temperature of the water into consideration."

Carter was looking at Lena, who had been wrapped up in someone's jacket, with a considerable amount of concern. She was rocking back and forth, eyes wide.

"Are you alright?!" she said, voice breaching on hysteria. I could tell she felt horrible. The whole prank had been her idea, and she was obviously feeling responsible for the whole thing. Lena shuddered with cold and finally managed to stutter out an answer.

"A-aquaphobia. I c-can't control it."

I opened my eyes wide. She must be in deep shock for her to reveal such a piece of personal information. I felt as though a large hookworm was trying to eat it's way out of my stomach. I had already pushed her into the lake once and now I had been involved in throwing her into the water again, which just so happened to be her greatest fear. _Great going Rebecca. Already turned into a terrorist. Mum and Dad will so proud when you join the Taliban. _She looked up at us with narrowed eyes.

"This is your fault, isn't it?" she accused, addressing the whole group. Our guilty expressions were enough of an answer.

She stood up and marched away without a word.

"Where is she going?!" asked Ginny.

"We're going to be expelled." said Carter in an expressionless voice. I looked down at my feet unable to speak for the guilt banging at my heart.

"And the worst thing is, we deserve it." Brook finished.

* * *

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